Driving and Maintaining Your Car

How to Fix Your Rear Drum Brakes

Drum brakes are considered to be "old" technology and are being gradually replaced as time goes by. Yet you may still have them fitted to your car, especially on the rear as opposed to the front. These brakes are quite reliable but will occasionally fail and require attention, so if you're having issues with your setup now, what could be going wrong?

How It Works

If you were to take the rear wheels off your car, you would see an enclosed cylinder which is also known as the "drum." Inside the cylinder are a pair of shoes made from friction material mounted to an outer casing.

When you apply pressure to the brake pedal the hydraulic fluid will activate a small cylinder which will, in turn, push the shoes against the inside of the drum. When you release the pressure a pair of springs will automatically return the shoes to their static position, so that you can continue your journey.

Shoe Replacement

Given time, the friction material will wear down to a certain point, and you will need to replace the shoes. In order to do this, you will need to remove the outside cover of the drum in order to get at the mechanism. Before you can proceed you will have to wind the brake shoes away from the interior of the drum as if not, they will catch on the edge when you try to remove the outer cover. Typically, you will find a slot on the rear of the enclosure, and you can insert a screwdriver or brake adjuster tool to turn back the shoes.

Drum Pulling

Don't be surprised if the drum is reluctant and does not want to come away from the hub. This may require a bit of force and in the worst-case scenario, a special puller. This job will also need to be approached with a great deal of caution, however, as the casing may come off suddenly and without warning. It does weigh quite a lot, and you will need to be careful that it does not fall onto your foot.

Drum Resurfacing

From time to time the drum itself will need to be resurfaced. It is designed to wear down to a certain extent, but you will need to measure the diameter of the drum first to see if it is salvageable. It may have been resurfaced before and once it gets to a certain limit it will need to be discarded instead.

Expert Help

As you can see, you may need to apply certain techniques or work with special tools in order to fix your rear drums properly. In this case, you should outsource the work to a qualified mechanic who has experience with brake repairs instead.


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